Modeling the enablers of online consumer engagement and platform preference in online food delivery platforms during COVID-19

Aqib Habib (), Muhammad Irfan () and Mohsin Shahzad ()
Additional contact information
Aqib Habib: Dalian University of Technology
Muhammad Irfan: University of Education
Mohsin Shahzad: Dalian University of Technology

Future Business Journal, 2022, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-18

Abstract: Abstract Due to the COVID-19 outbreak globally during 2020, the usage and virtues of food delivery apps (FDA) have increased immensely, facilitating the consumer to access the food and food providers to keep functioning. However, this study aims to investigate the enablers of online consumer engagement (OCE) and platform preference in the foodservice industry, keeping in view the moderating role of peer pressure by following uses and gratifications theory (UGT). The data were collected from 322 FDA's user in China during the COVID-19 lockdown and analyzed employing partial least-square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). PLS-SEM results revealed that consumer’s self-concept and platform interactivity affect OCE and platform preference. Further, OCE mediates the effect of the relationship between platform interactivity, self-concept, and platform preference. Furthermore, peer pressure significantly moderates the relationship between OCE and platform preference. This research contributes to the prevailing body of literature in a novel way by employing UGT on consumer behavior in the FDA. The study has value for online food businesses and implications for consumers, retailers, and practitioners to formulate and implement value-added strategies in a consumption-oriented emerging economy.

Keywords: Food delivery apps; Platform preference; Online consumer engagement; PLS-SEM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: Track citations by RSS feed

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s43093-022-00119-7 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:futbus:v:8:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1186_s43093-022-00119-7

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://fbj.springeropen.com/

DOI: 10.1186/s43093-022-00119-7

Access Statistics for this article

Future Business Journal is currently edited by Soad Kamel Rizk and Hayam Wahba

More articles in Future Business Journal from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().